Burned At The Stake
by trycee
Summary: Mulder and Scully are investigating a modern day Witch who was burned at the stake, an old patient of Hannibal's. The woman's ghost has been seen since her death bursting into flames to horrified on-lookers. Mulder and Scully seek to solve her murder. *Scully meets Bedelia* Bump In The Night Halloween Crossover Challenge (Revised 12/9/16)
1. Chapter 1

**Burned At The Stake**

**Part 1**

**by**

**Trycee**

**Time-Line: Halloween Crossover story: X-Files/Hannibal. +Bump In The Night Halloween Crossover Challenge**

**Location: Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Files, this is written for fun not profit.**

****Food descriptions come from Janice Poon, a food stylist for NBC Hannibal from her blog, "Feeding Hannibal"****

Scully stared at the projection screen in horror, it was nearly too grisly to comprehend. A woman had been burned at a stake, left in an isolated woods with only one leg and one arm still visible.

"What must this woman have gone through," Scully sighed.

Mulder flipped the switch on the projector and another image came to light. Written in her ashes visible enough to still be seen were the words, 'WITCH'.

"Someone is duplicating the Salem Witch trials, Mulder? Only this time in Baltimore?", Scully said, as Mulder watched her closely. "Satanic sacrifice, maybe? Meant to be disguised as a witch hunt? Or perhaps the perpetrator thinks she is in fact a witch and he see's himself as judge, jury and executioner?"

Mulder tapped a pencil against his lower lip and stared at the screen. He was unusually quiet and it unnerved her.

"Mulder?", she said, as a question laced with concern.

Mulder smiled in her direction. "Ever since her murder witnesses have claimed to see a woman appear and burst into flames."

"What witnesses?"

Mulder pulled out the article from a corner store magazine and pointed to a drawn image of a burning witch.

Without batting an eye, Scully asked, "Are we assigned to this case?"

"Someone wants us on this case," Mulder said, handing her a slip of paper. "Someone sent this in my email."

"So are we investigating it?"

"That's the problem, it's already being investigated by the FBI," Mulder said.

"By who?", Scully said, growing concerned. Mulder was acting strangely. Instead of jumping up, ready to fly out the door to investigate a new X-Files, he was standing against the projection machine with a lost look on his face. "Mulder? By who?"

Mulder finally focused on Scully. "Jack Crawford and his new pet, Will Graham," he said, bitterly.

"Jack Crawford, the head of the Behavioral Science Unit, where you worked prior to starting the X-Files?", she said, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Yes, Jack knows me well."

"You were the golden boy, just as Will Graham is now," she said, matter of factually. "Let me guess, when you decided to leave to pursue the X-Files, he wasn't thrilled."

"He wasn't thrilled when I was there," Mulder said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Will Graham teaches at the academy," Scully said, standing directly in front of Mulder. "He suffers from anxiety, Asperger's and several other conditions," Scully stated. "I knew of him in passing when I worked at the academy," she sighed. "I hear he has a very unique way of visualizing the crime scene."

"I hear it's down right 'Spooky', yet no one ridicules him or calls him a freak!", Mulder scoffed. "I guess I already had that label."

"I guess chasing after little green men is worst in their eyes than having a mental challenge and seeing a crime scenes aura's." she said, locking eyes with Mulder.

Mulder shut off the projection machine. "No, I guess not."

"So, if it's already being investigated, why do you want us to investigate it, Mulder?"

"Because no one is investigating her appearances after-death, Scully!"

Scully shook her head and sighed.

"If we opened an X-Files, we'll need Skinner's back on this or Crawford could try to shut down our investigation, Scully."

"What reason do we have to investigate it, Mulder?",Scully questioned. "Scribbling witch into ashes doesn't make it an X-Files."

"Seeing an apparition of a Dead Witch is!", he smiled.

"Well, how do we investigate it without getting into trouble if there's already a team investigating her death?"

"We investigate it unofficially," he said, grabbing up his jacket. "We'll tell Skinner we're investigating an X-file and we'll report to him when we get the details."

Scully stepped in front of him. "Mulder, it'll be our asses on the line. I thought you said we needed Skinner to back us up? All it takes is for Director Jack Crawford or whoever is overseeing this to shut us down!"

"Are you in or out, Scully?", Mulder said, holding the door open.

Scully sighed heavily and exchanged glances with Mulder. "Fine," she said, grabbing up her jacket. "Unofficially, Mulder."

_**Baltimore, Maryland:**_

Scully donned blue scrubs and re-examined the already cataloged body parts, searching for anomalies that perhaps the coroner had missed. The arm was blackened from extreme heat but underneath the top layer of dead skin Scully could see a word etched into the flesh. She snapped a few photos and then moved on to the other remaining body part, the leg. There were no distinguishing features about the leg and so she quickly wrapped up her investigation.

Mulder stood outside the observation window waiting for Scully's initial conclusion. She waved for him to enter the autopsy bay. He covered his nose and reluctantly walked over to the table where Scully stood over the blackened burned body pieces. "I can confirm that this indeed belongs to a woman and after she had been burned, someone waited for her body to cool long enough to scratched the words, 'witch' into her arm, right here!", Scully said, pointing to the arm. "What a horrible way to die, Mulder and what a horrible thing to do to the body.."

"Truly," Mulder said, trying not to gag from the smell of burned flesh. "Whoever wanted her dead was passionate about killing her."

Scully looked into his eyes briefly before turning away.

"We don't even know who she is," Scully sighed. "First we need to find out if there's missing women between the ages 18 and 40 which is all I could determine," she said. "Whoever did this was sick, Mulder."

"Well, Scully," Mulder said, stepping away from the body parts. "I'll go check the databases to see if anyone has filed a missing persons report in the past week."

"Okay," she said, "I'll meet you at the local FBI office when I'm done."

Mulder nodded and quickly bolted through the doors leaving Scully all alone with the scorched fragments. She grabbed the camera and began to snap photos of the victim's right arm. "Whoever did this to you," she whispered. "We'll catch them and make them pay."

She turned and gasped, dropping her knife on the floor. In a pattern leading from the table where the arm and leg still lay were three outlined human feet made of ashes lead away from the table to the door where they disappeared. Scully grabbed the camera and began snapping the photos, afraid they might vanish as quickly as they had appeared. She then took several samples of the sand, locking it away to be later analyized. She knew that she and Mulder would be visiting the area where the victim had died and she could compare both samples of sand. Scully grabbed a broom and then swept up the remainder of the sand as she tried to contain herself. She was frightened but she kept her nerves in check and finished up her report before turning off the light and closing the doors of the autospy bay.

_Baltimore FBI Headquarters:_

Scully scanned the tops of the heads of the Baltimore field agents searching for Mulder as she walked past. She could see a few of the male agents were interested in her and so she smiled in their directions but moved through the crowd searching for her partner. Finally she spotted his tall lanky frame scrunched over a young FBI agent, his attention solely on the task in front of him.

"Mulder," she said, and instantly he turned in her direction, his attention now solely focused on her. "Oh hey, Scully. Did you bring the autopsy report?"

"I need to speak to you," she said, gesturing for him to step away from the other Agent who was assisting with their investigation.

Mulder stood up and followed her a few steps away. "Mulder, I can't believe I'm about to say this."

Mulder looked concerned. "What is it, Scully?"

She glanced up into his hazel orbs and sighed heavily. "After you left, Mulder...I turned around and there were footprints made of sand on the floor leading from the table to the door."

Mulder's interest was suddenly peaked as Scully handed him the photos.

"Scully..."

"I know," she said.

"Well, we need to find our missing Witch."

"I'm still...", she said, crossing her arms in front of her. "Shaken up about it."

Using both hands, Mulder rubbed his hands up and down her arms. "It's okay," he said, soothingly. "Even though you're frightened...consider it her way of communicating with you."

"Communicating with me?", Scully said, alarmed.

"Yes!", he smiled. Scully's mouth gaped open as she stared at Mulder's soft bottom lip. He noticed but continued. "Maybe she knows we're trying to solve her murder, Scully."

She stared at him, searching his hazel orbs eyes and it calmed her. He continued to rub her arms and she was mesmerized at the warmth and sensations it caused her from his hands alone.

"Come with me," he said, placing his hand on his spot and guiding her back to where he had been sitting. A younger FBI agent was switching between tabs, searching the Missing Person's databases as well as the local Baltimore police reports for missing women within the past two weeks.

"So far," Agent Downing said, "There's just four leads. Two women are in their twenties missing from the local universities."

"Nothing unusual about a few missing girls from a college per year," Scully said, matter of factually. "A serial rapist, a jealous boyfriend, a drunk frat kid, an older married professor," she said, as Mulder watched her. "Those are your typical suspects. "

"The third woman was in her thirties and the other in her forties."

"It IS unusual for women in their thirties and forties to just vanish. Typically it's because of a domestic altercation and the killer is a spouse, a lover," Scully said, glancing briefly at Mulder much to his surprise. Her cheeks colored pink."What were the circumstances?", she said, clearing her throat.

Agent Downing read from the screen."One appears to be a domestic abuse case and the other just vanished. No one saw her disappear. All of her belongings including her credit cards, keys and purse were all still in her home. Her car was parked outside of her home," he said, handing her a photo of a pretty dark haired woman in her early 40's. "No one noticed her gone."

"What about a spouse? A roommate? Children?"

He continued to read on from the screen. "She lived alone and she didn't have any children. She was in and out of mental facilities and so when she vanished, no one assumed it was foul play. She was known to dabble in the Occult. Ah, She see's a therapist. A Dr. Hannibal Lecter."

Scully glanced up to the Mulder. "We need to know if the therapist knew her whereabouts or if he assumed she relapsed and had a break down."

Scully leaned over Agent's Downing's shoulder. "I see no diagnosis stated. Perhaps she was schizophrenic or Bipolar..."

"My gut says, she's our Witch, Scully," Mulder said.

"Katie Williams," Scully sighed."Well we'll have to find the rest of her," she said, shaking her head. "You want to visit the crime scene first or her home?"

"The crime scene has been picked at, Scully by Crawford and his team." he said, looking off. They gathered all of her ashes and you've already autopsied the body parts that did remain. No, I want to visit where she lived. Talk to the neighbor's. See if she had any friends, relatives or a boyfriend that would visit her. I'm sure the neighbor's would know better than most," he said, grabbing his suit jacket.

Scully grabbed the victim's photo in her hand as Mulder placed his hand on his spot on her back and he guided her out of the Baltimore FBI field office. For a split second, Mulder's hand crept over to Scully's right side, squeezing slightly sending a jolt through her entire body. He had never done that before. Scully shot a look up at him and he yanked his hand away embarrassed as they approached their government issued car. Scully stepped into her side and waited until Mulder sat in his before she turned to him. She stared down at his hands. They were so strong, so large and fit over half of her back. If only she could feel that sensation again, she thought to herself. She turned away and stared out the window, her thoughts clouded as they pulled off heading into Baltimore City.

Mulder paused at the entrance to the Cul De Sac that lead to Katie Williams home. The Baltimore metro police were parked directly in front of the single story home along with several non-descript vans they recognized as FBI issued.

"Must be Jack Crawford...", Mulder said, distastefully.

Scully reached out and touched his hand. "You ready?"

"Yeah," he sighed.

Mulder and Scully walked up the walkway but were stopped by the local police. After flashing their badges they gained entry into the home, but were stopped by Jack Crawford, who stood inside the foyer of the massive home. Scully could see several others standing inside the home, outfitted with gloves and evidence bags, all but one man who stood alone.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Agent Fox Mulder," Jack Crawford beamed, a twinkle in his eye. "What are you doing here, Mulder? I've got a team here already. No one authorized you or your partner to be here."

"We're here unofficially, sir," Scully answered.

"Unofficially?", Jack said, looking at Scully and then into the eyes of Mulder. "So, I take it Walter Skinner doesn't know you're here in Baltimore, correct? Still disobeying the rules, I see, huh Mulder?"

Mulder had stopped in his tracks the moment he saw Jack Crawford. Scully was surprised at Mulder's reaction to the taller man, She could see the tightening of Mulder's jaw, the slight twitch of his mouth. He was unnerved by Jack Crawford's presence and she didn't know why. Mulder stared into the eyes of Jack Crawford for a long while until finally Scully cleared her throat bringing him back to the present.

"We're here to determine if this is an X-files case or not."

A hysterical chuckle came from the back of the room. Scully looked past the three others and she focused on the one she had seen, a small man with curly brown hair who immediately looked away from them. Will Graham.

Mulder's jaw tightened further and his eyes settled back onto Jack Crawford. "I won't impede your investigation if you don't impede ours."

"One phone call, Mulder, and you won't have an investigation to work!", Jack threatened.

Mulder stared harshly at the taller man. "Sorry that I'm not your golden boy," he sneered. "We all couldn't be puppets lead around by our leashes!", he yelled.

Will glanced up in the direction of both Mulder and Scully. "Nice personal shot, Agent Mulder," Will smiled. "Too bad it doesn't really bother me. I'm aware of my shortcomings. My imperfections are what help me to solve cases. And I'm no puppet for any man."

Mulder looked past Jack to Will standing a few yards. "Well, just be fair warned," Mulder spoke directly to Will. "When you do walk away, be prepared to have him sabotage your career," he said, turning to look back at Jack Crawford.

Crawford chuckled. "I didn't have to do that, Mulder. You did that on your own...what with looking for flying saucers!"

Mulder shook his head, tired of the harassment.

"You were the best profiler we had!"

"Oh save me the bullshit!", Mulder screamed.

"And what, you're jealous that Will is now doing what you didn't have the balls to do?"

"Move out of my way, Crawford!", Mulder said. "Agent Scully and I are going to actually solve this case!"

Scully glanced at the rest of the team. She only recognized Will Graham from her days teaching at the Academy. Beside him was an Asian woman, and two other men who looked curiously back at her.

"Fine," Will said. "If you think you could do any better than I can..."

Mulder cut him off. "With your psychic mumble-jumble?", he sneered.

"Well," Will spoke. "I thought you believed in that sort of thing, Agent Mulder."

"True psychic's not psychotic's on the verge of a nervous breakdown being used like a puppet by Jack Crawford!", Mulder said pushing through the others and walking straight up to Will Graham, looking down into his eyes.

Will Graham laughed, avoiding his gaze."So what's your take on this case?"

"Did you know that people are reporting seeing her? That she appears and bursts into flames?"

The room erupted into laughter, all except Mulder and Scully.

"I think we'll continue with our investigation," Will said, dismissively.

"You've been warned," Mulder whispered. "I was you, Will Graham. Save yourself and go back to teaching before you're just another casualty."

Mulder turned and headed up the stairs leading to the second floor leaving Scully alone. Scully could see Will staring at her as if he recognized her. Scully could feel the intensity from her fellow agents as all eyes rested on her. She turned from Willl Graham and followed Mulder up the stairs.

"Mulder, what was that?", she questioned.

"It doesn't matter," he said, slapping on latex gloves and pulling out the dresser drawers examining each bit of clothing, searching for anything that would lead him to figuring out what had happened to Katie Williams. The presence of the other FBI agents had verified that she was the victim, he just needed a motive and to find evidence.

"So you just ditch me! Left me down there by myself!"

Mulder sighed and then turned toward her, placing a heavy hand on her arm. "Sorry, Scully. I just needed to get out of there."

"So, Crawford was what..."

"It doesn't matter,", he said, looking into her eyes and tucking a curl behind her ear. "Let's just search around so we can get out of here."

She nodded. "Okay," she said.

They searched around and Mulder dropped to his knees and looked under the bed. "Hey Scully...look at this. I think we had an X-Files like this once."

Scully pushed the linens out of her line of sight and she nodded. "Witchcraft and Satanism."

"Let's get a photo of this. "

"A photo of what?", Beverly asked, ducking in the room with them.

Scully turned to see the Asian woman wearing a black leather jacket.

Mulder rolled his eyes. "Do you mind?"

"You intruded in on our investigation, Mulder, so I'm intruding on yours," she said, kneeling next to Scully and Mulder and staring at the scratches in the wood floor. "Let's move the bed over."

Mulder shot a look at Scully and then stood up and with Beverly's help, they scooted the bed over.

"Nice," Beverly remarked. "Scratched with a sharp object. Three symbols. What does it mean?"

"It's for protection," Mulder announced. "And power."

Beverly sighed. "Umm huh," she said, snapping photos of the intricately carved eye in a triangle.

"These are Pentagrams," Scully asked.

"Yes, it is," Mulder said. "But the two of these are from Witchcraft while this one here is a Satanic symbol," Mulder said, looking at the last symbol. "It's a Satanic Star."

"Yeah?", Scully answered. "So did she graduate from witchcraft to Satanism?"

"Looks like," he sighed. " The Satanic Star is used in rituals, it's the main symbol representing Satanism."

"So, did she gain power? Is that why people are seeing her now or is she upset about being murdered?," Beverly interrupted. "You did say people are seeing her, right?"

Scully glanced at Beverly but she continued to snap photos.

"I don't know the answer to that," Mulder said.

Beverly stared back at them both. "Let's look around and see if there's proof that Katie Williams had crossed over from witchcraft into Satanism."

Scully sighed and then began to carefully to search around the room. She spotted something she had missed. "Mulder, look..."

Mulder walked over to Scully. He stared at the pill bottle in her hand. "It's Clozapine. It's a pretty strong anti-psychotic drug that was once banned but later reintroduced to the U.S. It's typically only prescribed to those who aren't responding to any other drugs. It has some pretty serious side effects, Mulder. Her doctor...a Dr. Hannibal Lecter didn't prescribe this lightly."

"Hannibal was the doctor?", Beverly said, snatching the pill out of Scully's hand.

Scully's eyebrows raised and Mulder could tell she was about to blow and so he placed his hand on her arm and mouthed, 'Calm down' to her. She stared into his hazel eyes and immediately relaxed.

"I know Hannibal," Beverly added.

"You do?", Mulder asked.

"He works with Will Graham. He's a well respected Psychiatrist here in Baltimore."

"So, he's a crackpot!", Mulder joked.

Scully's eyebrows rose. Mulder's smile diminshed. He knew she was reminding him that he too was a Psychologist.

Beverly seemed amused as she stared at the two other agents who were having a silent conversation as if the only two people that existed in the world were them. "Do you want his address and phone number?"

Mulder sighed."That would be helpful."

Beverly with a sly smile answered. "Well, Jack is a regular guest at his home and Will is his patient. You could ask either of them, save yourself a few extra steps..."

Mulder rolled his eyes and stepped out into the hall.

Scully smiled a curt smile at Beverly and then joined her partner out in the hallway.

"Let's get out of here, Scully."

Mulder and Scully walked back down the steps. Will Graham spotted Mulder and Scully but his eyes wandered away from him. Scully noted that he was severely impaired Aspergers though he was obviously functioning. Scully noted that Will Graham was unable to maintain eye contact for long and he seemed to distance himself from the others. Her attention though seemed to return to her partner and his needs.

Jack stood with his hands crossed. "Find anything? Perhaps she flew to that spot in the woods and lit the fire herself...drew WITCH into her own ashes. Perhaps the reason she's appearing is because it's close to Halloween! Is that a reasonable hypothesis, Agent Mulder?"

Scully placed a hand on his arm as Mulder glared.

"Katie Williams was a patient of Dr. Lecter," Beverly said, standing on the steps behind them.

"Oh really?", Jack smiled, wickedly. "Well, tell Hannibal hello when you see him. And let him know we'll be there as soon as we wrap up here."

"Come on, Mulder," Scully said in a soft voice she knew Mulder responded to.

He glanced down and locked eyes with Scully and then walked on with Scully hot on his heels.

"Mulder!"

Mulder stopped mid-stride and turned to face Will Graham.

Scully looked at him with curiosity. It was unusual, she knew, for him to approach someone having the problems he had. He wasn't completely unsocial but he seemed uncomfortable around others enough that it was noticeable.

"Dr. Lecter isn't home right now," Will said, as he looked at Mulder's tie. "He's at his therapist."

"Dr. Lecter has a therapist?", Scully said, surprised.

"Psychiatrist often need to seek therapy," Mulder added.

"What's his therapists' name?", Scully said, calmly so as to not startle Will Graham.

"Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier," Will answered as he looked above her head staring at her red hair. He shoved a piece of paper into Scully's hand.

She looked at the paper and looked up as Will Graham walked away. She opened the paper and noticed the address scribbled in what looked like chicken scratch. She looked back at Will as he disappeared into the home and Mulder tugged on her arm. She turned and walked with him to the car, heading towards the home of Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier.

**Please Leave A Review: Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Burned At The Stake**

**Part 2**

**by**

**Trycee**

**Time-Line: Halloween Crossover story: X-Files/Hannibal. +Bump In The Night Halloween Crossover Challenge**

**Location: Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Files, this is written for fun not profit.**

****Food descriptions come from Janice Poon, a food stylist for NBC Hannibal from her blog, "Feeding Hannibal"****

They pulled up to an unusual styled home Scully recognized as a Frank Lloyd home belonging to Dr. Du Maurier and Scully followed behind Mulder. He knocked on the door and then glanced down at the beautiful face of his partner with her deep blue eyes and fiery red hair but she was busy staring at the intricate detail of the golden door belonging to Dr. Du Maurier. The door swung open and Mulder stepped back. A blonde haired woman with the same deep blue eyes as his partner stared back at him. They were the same height and he was shocked. The woman in front of him looked like his partner, only a few years older, as if they were related. He shook his head and turned to look back at his partner who was staring at the woman but she hadn't reacted. Finally, Dr. Du Maurier's attention turned from the tall dark haired man in front of her to the woman who was of her equal height and looked very similar to herself, except younger. She stared at Scully. "Do I know you?"

"No," Scully responded.

"Can I help you?", Bedelia asked, curiously.

"Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier?", Scully asked.

"Yes," she said, looking at the two, her eyes settling back on Scully.

Scully's eyebrow raised but she remained quiet as Mulder continued to stare.

Mulder still shaken up pulled out his badge as did Scully. "Agents Mulder and Scully, may we speak to you?"

"I'm in the middle of a session," Bedelia smirked, eying them suspiciously.

"With a Dr. Hannibal Lecter?", Scully questioned.

"Is there a reason that you're intruding?", Bedelia asked as she stood in the doorway.

"If you let us in, we can discuss it,", Mulder said, slipping into the door past her.

Scully and Bedelia eyed each other and Bedelia smiled widely. "Come in."

Scullys' eyebrow rose even higher as she followed behind Bedelia. She noticed the tight skirt and tight fitting blouse. She walked sensously and with purpose. Scully rolled her eyes as she followed Bedelia through the foyer down the steps to where Hannibal was seated. Mulder was waiting for them, his eyes shifting from Bedelia to Scully. Bedelia smirked at him. She locked eyes with Hannibal who was seated across from Bedelia, eying the two FBI Agents with a cool smile on his lips. Hannibal was dressed in a tailored pin-stripped suit sipping on a glass of wine. "Agents."

Hannibal's eyes lingered on a Scully a moment longer than was comfortable for Mulder.

Bedelia scanned them from head to toe as she sipped from her own wine glass. "Agents Mulder and Scully wanted to speak to you, Hannibal."

Mulder noticed the syrupy sweet voice of Bedelia as she sat in front of them. Mulder stared at the blond from the soft wave of her hair that wrapped around her beautiful face to the V-neck blouse that accentuated her breasts and yet covered them modestly. She was well-defined and dressed impeccably. She reminded him so much of his partner that it was uncanny. They were the same feminine shape and same piercing blue eyes he'd thought he'd never see in another human being. But, unlike Scully, this woman was a few years older than his partner was and with striking golden blond hair, yet they could be twins. It was like someone had exposed him to one of his many fantasies and presented it to him in the light of day. A fantasy of Scully dressed up in clothes that accentuated her lovely curves instead of hiding them but with an added bonus of blond hair and high heels. He was awestruck.

Bedelia smiled at them both but there was something hidden within her smile, Mulder noticed.

Mulder turned to look at his partner. She was dressed in a black trenchcoat, wearing her form fitting black pantsuit and white blouse. She wore her six inch mega heels so she could reach near his height. As much as he wanted to see more of her shape, he loved the way she looked and he loved her. But, Mulder saw in Scully's eyes made his stomach turn. Scully wasn't focused on either of the two psychiatrists in front of her, especially Dr. Du Maurier who looked so similar to herself, if she had even noticed. Instead, she was staring at him. She looked hurt, sad and defeated. Scully turned her gaze away from him and walked over to the window, staring out at the view of the circular home that doubled as Bedelia's office.

Bedelia and Hannibal exchanged glances as they watched the two agents. Mulder turned his attention back to them and his eyes settled on Dr. Hannibal Lecter who had a strange hidden smile on his lips which unnerved him.

"Dr. Lecter," Mulder began.

"Would you like some wine?", Bedelia said, catching Mulder off guard.

He stared at her a moment. "No thanks," and then turned his attention back to the strange man. "You have a patient, Katie Williams."

"Yes, she's my patient."

Scully walked up to Mulder's side. Mulder continued to question him. "Are you aware that your patient was found in the woods burned at the stake with the words WITCH written in her ashes? Only one arm and one leg remained visible," Mulder said, handing him a photo.

Dr. Lecter showed no reaction much to both Mulder and Scully's surprise. "She was fascinated with Witches since she was a child. Her fascination turned into her dabbling into Witchcraft as well," Hannibal said. "But, I'm afraid I can't divulge any more information."

"Your patient is dead!", Scully added. "I'm sure she won't mind!"

Hannibal smiled a slick smile and then turned to Bedelia who was watching Scully carefully. Scully glanced up to Mulder but he again was staring at Bedelia and so she stared back down to the floor, her heart heavy.

"She was obsessed with the Occult," Hannibal volunteered. "When Witchcraft wasn't enough for her she decided to turn to Satanism."

"So you prescribed her Clozapine?," Scully questioned. "For being fascinated with the Occult?"

"I'd be happy to go over my case notes with you back at my office," Hannibal said. "But, I'm afraid your wasting the time I have designated with my own psychiatrist," he said, glancing at Bedelia.

Bedelia nodded in his direction. "If you'll excuse us, we need to get back to this session. Our time is precious, Hannibal and I."

Mulder glanced down at Hannibal with his leg's crossed, that same unnerving smile gracing his lips. "Do you believe in ghosts, Doctor?"

Hannibal smirked. "There are ghosts lingering in one's mind. In that way, yes, I believe in Ghosts," he said, eying Scully who was staring at Bedelia.

"Your patient, Katie William's has been seen appearing after her death engulfed in flames..."

Hannibal smiled. "Fools believe in anything."

Scully could tell from Mulder's posture that he was becoming irritated. "We need to meet with you, today!"

"I'm afraid I have appointments," Hannibal said with a grin on his lips, fueling the tension between himself and Mulder.

"It's non-negotiable!", Mulder stated firmly.

"Perhaps over dinner. At my home," Hannibal smiled, trying to soften the air. "If my esteemed colleague would join me as well," he said, looking at Bedelia.

Mulder shot a look at Scully, confused and trying to transmit his thoughts to her the way they did but she seemed to be avoiding his gaze.

Bedelia looked uncomfortable as they waited for her answer. "Hannibal, as much as I would love to come over, this goes beyond our professional relationship."

Hannibal seemed amused. "This is simply colleagues eating a meal."

Scully was watching Bedelia and could see the wheels in her mind turning. Bedelia raised her glass of wine to Hannibal. "A meal between colleagues."

Mulder looked again at the beautiful blonde. "Great," Mulder said.

Bedelia glanced over to Scully and their identical blue eyes stared into each others deep orbs. She picked up on Scully's reluctances and she knew why. She could see it in Scully's eyes the pang for Mulder just as she could see the longing in Hannibal's eyes for her. She glanced up at the tall handsome FBI agent and smiled but then looked at Hannibal who seemed to be watching her with Mulder.

"I'll bring the wine," Bedelia said, as she stood up.

Hannibal nodded. "Six o'clock," Hannibal said, handing Mulder his card. "And be prepared for a fabulous meal," Hannibal said. "We'll go over my notes of the late Katie Williams. We'll consider it a working dinner."

Mulder agreed and with Bedelia leading the way to the door, both agents exited. Mulder looked once more at Bedelia and then walked out, trailing behind Scully who seemed to nearly run to the car. He watched as she slid into her side and he rounded the car and slid into his behind the steering wheel.

"What the hell just happened, Scully?", Mulder asked, more to himself than to her.

"I'm not sure," she said, trying to swallow her pain.

"Scully," Mulder said, looking at her. "I know they say everyone has a Twin Stranger but, I'd never guess to actually see it."

"What do you mean?", she said, her voice low and distant.

Mulder shook his head. "It's just...you didn't see it?"

"See what?", she said, flippantly.

"She looked just like you," Mulder said. "It's like an X-file in itself, Scully. Like it was you, twenty years older only with blond hair."

"And large boobs, Mulder?", she said, cooly.

Mulder stared at her, watching as she squirmed under his gaze.

"Scully! I'm not sure what that was supposed to mean, but if you haven't noticed, I'm not that shallow."

"Sure your not," she said, curtly.

"Is there something you want to say, Scully?", Mulder said, as she buckled her seat belt.

"No, Mulder...let's go," she sighed.

"I'm just saying, like maybe we should investigated your doppelganger, instead..."

"Mulder, stop!", she said, rolling her eyes.

Mulder unsure of what he'd done wrong, turned the key and drove off, leaving Dr. Du Maurier's residence in the distance.

"Interesting, those two," Hannibal said, sipping on his glass of wine.

"Indeed," Bedelia smiled.

"The woman...she has physical traits that remind me of you."

Bedelia smirked. "She does."

"Could you explain why that is?"

Bedelia looked at her patient carefully. "For every person there are rumored to be seven identical doubles, Hannibal. I'm sure you're aware of that."

Hannibal was quiet, lost in thought. "Well, since our session was interrupted, I guess we'll have to continue this another time," he said, rising from his seat.

"You're patient, Hannibal?" Bedelia continued in her syrupy tenored voice. "Katie Williams."

"Yes," Hannibal said, looking at her curiously.

"You never mentioned her."

Hannibal smiled down at Bedelia. "There's patients I don't mention and there was nothing to tell. She was a very sick woman. She stopped treatment."

"What was your diagnosis?", Bedelia said as she gazed up into his eyes.

"I agreed with her previous diagnosis. An undifferentiated type of Schizophrenic. She was obsessed with the fantasy of being a witch and possessing powers."

Bedelia sipped on her wine. "It's a shame," she said, studying Hannibal carefully. "That she was murdered."

Hannibal smirked and then smoothed his hand over his silver three piece suit. "Shame to waste someone in the prime of their life," he added. "Tomorrow, Dr. Du Maurier? It will be the first time you graced me with your presence. Six O'Clock."

"Promptly," Bedelia added. "With wine."

Hannibal nodded and then headed for the door to let himself out.

_**Druid Hills Park**_

Mulder arrived at the crime scene which was cordoned off with yellow police tape the walking trail, that lead to the crime scene. Mulder yanked the tape down and stepped onto the path that lead deeper into the woods. He could smell burnt flesh and burnt wood before he reached the clearing which still had Katie Williams ashes scattered amongst the dirt. Mulder looked around the area noticing the wood cut around the scorched area with branches still laying on the ground as if ready to add to the fire. "Well, the name of the park fits..."

Scully shook her head. "Yeah, it does."

"I think she was a sacrifice, Scully."

Scully walked off from the site standing off and lost in her thoughts.

Mulder turned to look at her. "What's going on, Scully?"

"Nothing," she said, slapping on gloves and pulling out a plastic evidence bag from her pocket. She bent down and gathered the ashes, zipping the bag closed.

"You've been acting funny since Dr. Du Maurier's. Did it freak you out to see her?"

"Mulder," she said, shrugging. "Sure, it was strange to see someone that looked similar to myself even though she's older, closer to Bill's age than my own. That was a little unnerving."

"I thought so," Mulder said, as he bent down to study the wood left behind from the fire. "Is she a relative?"

"Mulder, of course not," she said, shaking her head. "It's not unusual within a population to have Twin Strangers. After all, we are replicating the same gene pool over and over," she said, as Mulder grimaced.

"It's true," she continued. "After a few hundred years, your children have married my children and we're bound to have a population that look similar."

"Yeah but French."

"Maybe it was from marriage," Scully suggested. "She doesn't look French to me."

"She looked French to me!", Mulder said eagerly, as the memory of Bedelia flashed through his mind.

He turned and saw Scully with that look in her eyes again as she ducked her head down. "Scully?"

"Yes, Mulder?"

He stood up and touched her arm. "You think I'm attracted to her, don't you?"

Shocked, Scully stepped back. "It's not any of my business, Mulder."

"Cut the crap, Scully!"

"She is your type, Mulder."

"And what is that, Scully?", he said, in disbelief. "What's my type?"

"Blond...beautiful...intelligent."

"Except for the blond part, you got it right," he said, dumbfounded.

Ignoring him she continued. "Brunette then, long legged, big boobs".

"Scully, if you hadn't noticed, she's closer to your height."

She noticed he didn't mention her boobs. "Why are you bringing this up here? At a crime scene, Mulder?", she said.

"I saw the look in you're eyes," he said.

Scully stared at him for a moment, their eyes locked onto one another. "What look is that?"

Mulder sighed. He wanted to tell her how he felt but this wasn't the time or the place. "It's not what you think, Scully. It's not."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Like I said, Mulder," she spoke in a small saddened voice. "Not my concern."

Mulder knelt back down and then noticed something that had been overlooked by the forensics team, probably the team working with Jack Crawford and Will Graham. "Careless," he said, under his breath. He pushed the large pieces of burnt bark away from the tree Katie Williams had been tied too, down deep into the dirt underneath a layer of scorched wood with his gloved hands and lifted the silver Satanic Star on a necklace. He bagged it and shook his head.

"What did you find?"

"Satanic Star. Either it was her's or it was left here by the killer."

"But why? If she, like Dr. Lecter said, dabbled in the occult. Is it a large leap to go from witchcraft to satanism?"

"Well, she didn't set herself on fire, Scully. Someone murdered her. Someone wanted her dead."

"Sacrificing her, why?"

"That's the question, Scully."

"If she was a witch, Mulder, and as you said, was a sacrifice, what would she be a sacrifice too? Do witches burn other witches at the stake?"

Mulder,still kneeling, glanced up and saw a woman standing by a tree at the edge of the scorched area. He stood up slowly, staring at the face of the victim visible to him as if she were still alive. She looked back at him, her dark hair blowing in the wind. And suddenly she was engulfed into flames, writhing in pain as Mulder rushed towards the tree to help her and then she vanished, just as witnesses had reported.

Scully watched him as he searched around the tree. "What are you doing?"

"I saw her!"

Scully looked around her. "Saw who?"

"Katie...The Witch, Scully!"

Scully placed her hands on her hips. "Mulder you just think you saw her because the mind is playing tricks on you..."

He grabbed her shoulders. "No, I saw her. Like you saw her footprints..."

"Well, maybe it was someone hiding behind the trees."

Mulder gave her a look. She ignored him and continued "Do Satanist have powers?"

"Some evoke the power of Satan and the dark forces," he said, removing his gloves.

"Which one walks the earth doing Halloween?", Scully joked.

Mulder shook his head. "Come on, Scully, be serious."

"Fine," she said, removing her gloves. "Let's get back to the hotel and change before we go see the good Doctor..."

"The Good Doctor, Dr. Hannibal Lecter," Mulder sneered.

"Yeah...", Scully sighed. "A dinner date...", she smirked.

Mulder chuckled. "We've never investigated a case this way before..."

"Nope...unless you count the Kindred," she said, immediately regretting the memory.

She could see Mulder grow quiet and his eyes bulged as he stared at her. She touched his hand. "Come on, Mulder. Let's take this to the lab and then get scrubbed up for dinner..."

He looked down at himself and then back up to her. He was dressed in one of his black Armani suits and colorful tie. Somehow he had managed to stay clean the entire day.

"Let's go Mulder. We don't want to keep the good doctor waiting. We wouldn't want to be rude."

Mulder glanced around again at the area that had already been picked at and sighed. "Alright, Scully, let's go."

**Please Leave A Review: Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Burned At The Stake**

**Part 3**

**by**

**Trycee**

**Time-Line: Halloween Crossover story: X-Files/Hannibal. +Bump In The Night Halloween Crossover Challenge**

**Location: Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Files, this is written for fun not profit.**

****Food descriptions come from Janice Poon, a food stylist for NBC Hannibal from her blog, "Feeding Hannibal"****

They were surprised at the table setting laid out by Hannibal. The long exquistie table with ten seatings was filled with exotic flowers and fruits cut into ornate displays. Scully glanced over to the Wall of Herbs, three deep pocketed long planters in a row filled with fragrant herbs that nearly overwhelmed the senses. 'When does he find the time?', she wondered.

Scully was dressed in a black dress that feathered out at the waist showing her curves much to Mulder's surprise and reaching down past her knees giving him a view of her sexy toned legs. He was disappointed though that she had again worn black. She had been wearing black ever since Emily's death but he did note that she looked incredible in it. He couldn't keep his eyes off her. The dress dipped only slightly in the front giving Mulder a glimpse of her skin, and he had to remind his body not to react to what he was seeing from her. She had small diamond earrings in her ears and she wore her black trenchcoat which covered her arms. He knew her dress was one she wore as FBI attire, possibly one she kept in her suitcase for just such an occasion, but yet she looked both beautiful and elegant and he was proud to be her 'date' at this working dinner with Hannibal. Scully slipped off the black jacket and Mulder gasped slightly. Her arms were bare and he could see Scully's delicate shoulders. Her dress was tied in the back exposing part of her back to him. She smiled shyly at him as he continued to stare. Hannibal watched them carefully, fully aware of the sexual tension between them.

Mulder kept glancing in Scully's direction as Hannibal eagerly explained the painting above the fireplace and the animal tusks that framed it. Mulder's heart ached just looking at her. Her red hair was cropped short, laying close to her face and she looked both adorable and sexy at the same time. He wanted her so badly but he had to pretend that her every movement, sigh and gaze didn't affect him physically. Hannibal seated them together at his massive and lavishly decorated table. He added the flower's Mulder had crushed to his body as he stared at Scully, the ones they'd brought as a gift for Hannibal to the table adding to the decor. Being a master host, Hannibal explained his grand decorations which neither Mulder nor Scully listening to the scientific names and whether they were edible or for decoration.

Hannibal immediately began to pour some wine into their glasses. The doorbell rang and Hannibal excused himself. Scully turned towards Mulder. He was practically drooling and she felt proud of herself that she had brought him to that state.

Hannibal returned with Bedelia du Maurier smiing and Mulder's jaw nearly dropped. Scully turned to look at him and he had to turn his head away to stop from staring. She was wearing a dark red Hippie Cowl Wrap Blouse that crisscrossed down to the nape of her breast yet shielding her breast from view and she wore a tight black leather skirt that stopped at the knee. Her equally well toned legs were like eye-candy to Mulder. Bedelia glanced over to Hannibal and he seemed glued to her as well. She smirked as she glanced at Mulder who was trying to avoid her gaze and Scully who seemed irritated by it.

"Glad I could make it," Bedelia spoke, as Hannibal poured her a glass of red wine. "I have to admit this is the first time I've ever been here myself."

"Really?", Scully said skeptically, glancing over at Hannibal who was watching the beautiful blond, a look of pure admiration on his face.

"Yes," she said, in her sugary voice with a hint of a British accent.

Scully turned to look at Mulder but his eyes were on her. His face was reddened slightly but she connected with his eyes before glancing down bashfully. He placed a hand on her back searing her skin. This was the first time Mulder had ever touched her bare skin without her being in danger and she desperately fought to not tremble from the intensity of his touch. She glanced up into his eyes and he nodded to her, a sly smile on his face and then turned back to the two psychiatrist in front of them.

"We appreciate the invitation to this dinner, Dr. Lecter," Scully began.

"It's a passion of mine," Hannibal said, refilling Bedelia's glass. She sat directly across from Mulder but her attention was on Scully. It still amazed her how similar Scully's mannerisms were to hers.

"I love to entertain," Hannibal continued. "I'm passionate about having friends for dinner," Hannibal smirked. "It's what I live for."

Mulder looked at him intensely. There was something in Hannibal's smile and eyes that made him uncomfortable.

Scully content with Mulder's hand still on her back, continued. "We still would like your notes on Katie Williams."

Hannibal smiled. "Yes, of course. But certainly on a full stomach!", he said, dispensing charm.

Scully smiled back but shook her head slightly. She could tell that getting any information out of Hannibal would take awhile. Scully was enjoying seeing Mulder in one of his Armani suits with a turquoise shirt and black tie with what looked like crop circles but his glances at Dr. Du Maurier, only made her feel more insecure and hurt.

Within minutes, Hannibal had in front of them a plate with a salad that looked as if it might attack them, something neither Mulder nor Scully had ever seen. Though it was lovingly created by Hannibal who had an artists eye in creating the masterpieces. Scully could tell from Mulder's glances at her that he was thinking the same thing she was afterall, they were used to roadside diner fare not majestic displays of artistry. It looked like a science experiment with a whole mini cabbage head on each individual plate with peacock feathers sticking out like knives, It had purple baby artichokes, sliced tomato and cucumbers cut into flowerettes. Hannibal drizzled a citrus salad dressing on top and explained each ingredient and invited his guest to enjoy.

Scully glanced at Bedelia's face and saw that she too was surprised at the strange pointy salad that resembled an array of knives jetting out but Bedelia removed the feathers and then picked up her salad fork and began to eat.

"Dig in!", Hannibal began. "This is the first of two courses."

Scully smiled meekly and shot a quick glance to Mulder. They also removed the feathers and then dug into their salads and were both surprised at the complexity of flavors. "Wow, incredible!", Scully said.

"Thank You," Hannibal smiled. "It's a bitter orange dressing with sweet basil and a hint of cranberry."

"Delicious," Bedelia added, smiling at Hannibal who seemed to perk up.

"So," Mulder said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "What could you tell us about Katie Williams", he asked.

Hannibal glanced quickly over to Bedelia who returned his gaze before digging back into her salad.

"She had a diagnosis with Lycanthropy or what's better known as Witches Lycanthropy."

"She thought she could shape shift," Mulder said.

Hannibal looked surprised. "Yes. She thought she possessed the ability to transform into a raven or a werewolf."

Bedelia looked concerned. "I've only read about cases like that. What an interesting case she must've been."

Hannibal seemed pleased with himself. "She'd been a practicing witch for many years. But, when off her medication she was harmful to herself and others. She had developed a tolerance to most medication. Clozapine was our only option to keep her functional."

Mulder nodded, waiting for him to get to the point but Hannibal was an eloquent story-teller and was enjoying the company and the banter.

"What powers did she possess?", Mulder asked.

Hannibal seemed amused. "She had no actual power except what existed in her mind. She believed she had achieved a certain level of power, whatever that was within her cultic beliefs. But, despite what she saw as having achieved a level of power, she wanted more. From what you tell me, Agent Mulder, people are claiming to see her."

"They are," Mulder stated.

"Perhaps she achieved it. A modern urban legend," Hannibal stated. "But when it came to our sessions, she spoke mainly of blood sacrifices."

"Blood sacrifices?", Mulder asked.

"Yes, using chickens and even the piercing of her fingers to perform a spell or a curse. I mainly listened. I don't believe in judging."

Bedelia was staring at him. He grabbed up his wine glass and slowly sipped on it. Bedelia turned from him and eyed the two Agents instead.

"Did you think of committing her?", Scully asked.

"Agent Scully," Hannibal said, with his fork in the air.

"Dr. Scully," Scully corrected him.

Impressed Hannibal nodded. "Dr. Scully, it's interesting that you asked that," Hannibal stated. "I had begun the paperwork but then she stopped attending sessions."

"And you didn't follow up on her whereabouts?", Scully questioned.

Hannibal and Bedelia exchanged glances. Scully shot a look at Mulder and her eyes settled back on the two psychiatrists that she felt were dishing out bits and pieces of information.

"We can't track down all of our patients," Bedelia explained, speaking in her slow, careful way. "We have patients that come once and then we never see them again. That's the industry we're in."

Scully watched the woman closely, noticing the way Bedelia guarded her words. Scully also noticed the distance Bedelia placed between herself and Hannibal, who seemed to want to impress her, leaving an empty chair between them. Scully turned to look at Mulder and he had glanced at Bedelia but turned back to towards her. Scully picked up her glass, sipping on it.

The doorbell rang and Hannibal looked amused. "Excuse me," he said, standing up from the table. Mulder smiled meekly at Bedelia as he played with the feather on the side of his plate.

Bedelia, ignoring the occasional glances from Mulder, turned her attention towards Scully. "Tell me, Agent Scully, what area of medicine do you practice. And how do you use your skills as a doctor in the FBI?"

Scully sighed, choosing her words very carefully. "I am a licensed Forensic Pathologist and I also treat patients, whenever it's needed," she said, as she glanced over to Mulder. He smiled. "My FBI credentials give me a little more freedom than you're average physician."

Bedelia smiled. "Sounds like you have developed numerous skills in the FBI that will be invaluable to you one day if you decide to go into private practice."

Scully looked into the woman's identical blue eyes and she smiled. "Yes, I have. And might I ask, how many patients do you see?"

Bedelia smiled warmly back. "One. I have just the one."

Scully cocked her head to the side. Bedelia noticed the confused look on both Mulder and Scully's faces.

"I retired," Bedelia said, as she dangled the wine glass in the air. "But, Hannibal is the reason I came out of my retirement but only for him, I'm afraid."

"And you had never worked with a patient with Lycanthropy?", Scully asked, a little edge in her voice.

Bedelia's eyebrow raised and Mulder had to mentally check himself. She was NOT Scully.

"I'm curious," Bedelia said, avoiding the question, as she turned towards Mulder. "Why didn't you practice, Agent Mulder?", she asked in her syrupy sweet voice.

"Practice?", he said, surprised.

"You seem familiar with Lycanthropy," she said, sipping on her wine. "No interest in practicing?", she said picking up on Mulder's Psychologist background.

"I decided the FBI was my route," Mulder said, turning towards Scully. She sipped on her wine and her eyes were cast down and Mulder could tell she was uncomfortable with his one on one with Bedelia.

Scully could feel a burning in her chest as Mulder and Bedelia chatted with each other. She felt alone in a room full of people and what she wanted to do was cry. Here was a woman that was a few years older than herself, that looked similar to herself, and could even be mistaken for her older sister except for the blond hair. And Mulder was staring into her eyes much like her own and it was sickening to her. Bedelia Du Maurier wasn't six feet tall like the past women in his life, she was around the same height as herself except they were both wearing heels. Scully felt like a woman who had caught her husband flirting with another woman right in front of her and it made her want to throw up. Now she knew what Mulder must have felt like when he'd seen Eddie Van Blundht, as him, leaning over her just inches from her lips.

"Ummm, Mulder!", Scully said, cutting into their conversation, trying to bring Mulder's attention back to her.

Mulder looked into her eyes. He could see that she was fragile. It was slight, her emotions, and on the outside, Scully looked contained, but he knew her better than anyone and he could see jealously and distress in her eyes. Mulders hand moved up from her back to her bare neck sending shivers down her spine. "Yes, Scully?"

She couldn't speak as his hand seared her flesh, awakening her entire body. Her mouth opened but nothing came out. He smiled at her and she glanced down shyly. She could still feel his eyes on her.

Bedelia was observing the interaction between the agents when Hannibal returned with a guest, Jack Crawford.

"Well, well, well...", Jack smiled. "If it isn't my old friend, Fox Mulder."

"I'm sorry, we have to go!", Mulder said, pushing his chair back and jumping up.

"So suddenly?", Hannibal said, looking offended. "I've served but one course."

"Mulder, did you find Katie's ghost yet?", Jack chuckled.

Mulder glared at Jack Crawford. "Mock me all you want but Scully and I are going to solve this case."

"I had a chat with A.D. Skinner," Jack said, looking from Mulder across the table and Scully who was still seated. "He wants you in his office first thing Monday morning...but he's willing to allow you to work on this case...as long as you don't interfere with my investigation."

"Why didn't he tell us that himself?", Mulder fumed.

"I told him I would," Jack said. "At dinner..."

Hannibal smiled at the tension between the two FBI agents.

"Well, dinner is over!", Mulder said, pushing in his chair.

"Mulder, you're not leaving on my account, are you?", Jack teased as he sat down next to Bedelia. "Surely, we could both be civil and sit at the table and enjoy each others company."

Scully reached up and placed a small hand on his arm, calming him. He looked down at his partner and nodded and then sat back down. Jack noticed the intimate gesture between the partners. He'd heard rumors about them and now he was witnessing it for himself. It reminded him of the way Will Graham looked at Dr. Alana Bloom.

Hannibal set a place for Jack and he was pleased, giving him a new audience to showcase his culinary skills. Jack nodded acknowledging Bedelia as she sipped on her wine watching the chaos. She was fascinated with Scully's full attention to her partner. She noticed Scully's moods would shift with his moods as if they were completely in sync. Bedelia smiled to herself as she sipped on her wine, it was obvious that they were in love with each other but it was also obvious that they hadn't yet consummated their relation.

"Did Mulder mention he's here investigating the after-life appearance of Katie Williams?", Jack asked.

"Yes," Hannibal answered. "It's an interesting concept. A murder victim appearing as she died. For what purpose? A reminder that she is a victim, perhaps?"

"It happens to be our case but Mulder and his partner here, Dr. Scully...Agent Scully," he said, nodding in her direction. "Are here unofficially."

Mulder's fist tightened and Scully laid her hand again on his arm.

Hannibal smirked. "I wasn't aware of that."

Hannibal, with a devious grin, stared into Mulder's eyes. Mulder again felt uncomfortable. He turned his head, his jaw taut and his eyes bulging, glaring at Jack. Scully was sure she could see smoke coming out of his ears."I hadn't had the time to explain that, Jack!"

"Well now that we're all here, we can discuss the details together," Jack said, digging into his salad. "Umm, exquisite."

"Thank You," Hannibal said, as Jack savored every mouthful. "Tell me," Hannibal questioned. "You said, Katie Williams was found in the woods.

"Scorched with one leg and one arm left visible," Jack added.

Bedelia laid her fork down, her appetite taken. She felt uneasy discusing their case during dinner but Hannibal and the other's didn't seem to mind.

Mulder smoothed his palms on his pants. "That's right."

"A fire was built up and she was tied to a tree and after she was burned, the killer wrote WITCH in her ashes," Jack said, staring at Mulder. "This was the killer's first murder. No other crimes like this existed here since the Puritans who had witch trials here in Maryland as well as Massachusetts. But, we'll solve it, thanks to Will Graham," he said, goading Mulder.

Scully quickly turned to her partner. "Mulder," she said, in a soft voice.

Mulder could feel her voice penetrating his brain and his body. He knew that Scully was fully aware of the way he reacted to just the sound of her voice. He sighed. "Did she have any enemies? Where did she practice witchcraft?"

"There's a group of witches here in Baltimore not recognized by the Wiccan's and Pagans who practice a peaceful religion. This group practices black magic," Hannibal continued. "They call themselves Dark Moon. She frequented the group but became dismayed when, as she described it, powers were weak. She thought conjuring up the devil would help her to achieve the amount of powers she wanted."

"We checked them, the Dark Moon group. No one remembered her," Jack answered.

"Where are they located?", Scully asked.

Jack sipped on his wine and smiled. "Near the University of Maryland...the Baltimore campus not College Park. Dark Moon is located in a place called, Pig-Town."

Mulder looked at Scully and they both stood up, excusing themselves. Bedelia nodded towards them both as she brought her wine glass up to her lips. Hannibal stood up and escorted them towards the door. "I'm sorry you couldn't stay."

"The dinner was delicious," Scully smiled. "But we need to get back to work."

Hannibal nodded. "Well, I hope to have you both for dinner again before you leave," he said, kissing Scully's hand.

"It's a promise," she smiled.

Mulder shook Hannibal's hand and he had a strange feeling run through him.

Hannibal returned with the others and then removed their salads and walked into the kitchen and plated up the second course, a meat course. He sat down and Bedelia smiled her appreciation. "You out did yourself, Hannibal."

"Let me guess," Jack said. "Roasted lamb, am I correct?"

Hannibal was amused. "Roasted veal stuffed with spinach and mushrooms served with an apple wedge, and french beans with Gorgonzola."

"Ummm," Jack said, savoring his food. "You are a master cook!"

"I must agree, Hannibal," Bedelia said, slyly.

Hannibal nodded in her direction. "So," Hannibal said, turning to Jack. "In what way do you know, Agent Mulder?"

"He worked in my division," Jack said. "He was a brilliant profiler...he still is. He just decided to blow his career on chasing after little green men."

"And Dr. Scully?", Bedelia said, turning towards Jack.

"She is a brilliant physician. She taught at the Academy, much as Will does. She was assigned to debunk him but instead..."

"Fell in love with him, perhaps?", Bedelia answered.

Jack looked at her hard. "There's rumor's to that effect. But, that isn't my problem. My problem is Mulder getting in the way of our investigation with his ridiculous 'ghost witch theory'. I don't want him trivializing it with some theory fit for Halloween! I want a serious investigation here."

Hannibal carved into his 'veal'."What did Will find?"

"Will thinks the killer was offended by our victim, Katie Williams. He feels the killer sees her as a fraud, a wannabe."

Hannibal looked impressed. "Who do you think will solve the crime, Will or Mulder?"

Jack chuckled. "Mulder was Will a few years back," he said, looking Hannibal in the eye. "But, that's before he chose to believe in extraterrestrials. My bet is on Will."

Bedelia kept her opinion to herself but her bet was on Mulder.

_**Baltimore Hotel:**_

Scully glanced at herself in the mirror one last time before she'd take off the dress, shower and change into something more comfortable. She had never before been so self-conscious than she had tonight but there was something about seeing Bedelia and Mulder's together that made her feel small and unattractive. She twisted around in the mirror, trying to see what Mulder had seen when he looked at her.

Mulder walked through the door separating their adjoined rooms with a burger in one hand and whistled. "Did I mention, you looked good enough to eat tonight, Scully, I had to tell you that," he said, with a grin.

"Apparently, not!", she mumbled under her breath.

"What?", Mulder said, tossing down the two paper bags of burgers. He turned to look at her. "What do you mean by, apparently not?"

Her cheeks colored bright red. "Mulder...It's...Nothing...", she said, stepping away from him but Mulder turned her back towards him, holding her tiny shoulders with both hands. "Scully?"

She looked up into his eyes. "Nothing... ", she said, with reddened cheeks.

"You still think I'm attracted to her, don't you?"

She crossed her arms in front of her defensively. "Why are you asking me that? Why should I care who you're attracted too?"

"Because you care!", he said, looking deeply into her oceanic eyes. He could tell that she was trying hard not to show her emotions but he was going to force it out of her.

"I don't care!", she lied.

"Scully, you do!"

"You're acting like I'm some," her words lost. "She seemed attracted to you," she said, turning her face away from him.

Mulder stepped in front of her and lifted her chin so she was looking him directly in his swimming hazel eyes. "You want to know what I saw when I looked at her?"

"NO!", she said. "Not particularly."

"I saw you! I saw you in a few years and let me tell you, Scully, you are still a gorgeous woman."

Scully shook her head, her eyes narrowing and she stepped away from him. "I don't know what to say to that."

Mulder looked confused. "You don't understand. I think you look beautiful now and I think she looks like what you're going to look like in just a few years and I like it."

"Explains why you were ogling her."

"No...I was...no!", he said, placing his hands on his hips. "I'm not explaining myself right. It would be like if you saw an older version of me...and I still looked handsome as I do now," he smirked. "Wouldn't you look?"

"Mulder...what are you saying? Do you want me to say I would be attracted to an older version of you?"

"Well...wouldn't you?"

She shook her head. "Are you making fun of me for having dated older men?"

"NO!", he said, cocking his head to the side. "What older men?"

Scully crossed her arms defensively. "That's my business."

"This is going all wrong. Look...I'm saying that we have an unspoken attraction to one another...tell me I'm wrong?"

She looked at him and then looked down at her feet.

He grabbed her arms to steady her and himself. "Scully, there's no one that I could be with I didn't trust", he said. "No one that I could be with that didn't challenge me."

Scully looked up into his eyes then. "Whatever you say, Mulder," she said, sadly.

"Hannibal seemed to be into her," he said. "Theres something going on between her and Hannibal. It's clear as day."

She nodded her head and then looked back at the floor.

"We're on a case. We're here to solve the deth of Katie Williams, not for dinner parties anyway," he said, letting her arms go. "We'll leave in the morning for Pig Town," he said, grabbing up his burger. "They didn't have much so I got you a burger with lettuce and tomato, no mayo."

Scully watched as he retreated back into his hotel room, closing the door. She sighed and then sat down on the edge of her bed. The tears she had been holding began to fall, a mixture of emotions. She was tired of always feeling the needto compete for his attention. And Dr. Bedelia du Maurier had made her feel worst than anyone else, because she wasn't Mulder's usual type at all.

**Please Leave A Review: Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Burned At The Stake**

**Part 4**

**by**

**Trycee**

**Time-Line: Halloween Crossover story: X-Files/Hannibal. Location: Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Files, this is written for fun not profit.**

****Food descriptions come from Janice Poon, a food stylist for NBC Hannibal from her blog, "Feeding Hannibal"****

_**Baltimore Hotel:**_

The morning came and Scully's eyes fluttered open. She stretched and placed her feet on the floor. She jumped back into the bed and stared at disbelief. There were footprints at her bedside as if Katie had been standing beside her watching her sleep. "MULDER!", she screamed.

Mulder threw open the door and raced into her room. She was sitting on the hotel bed staring down at the side of the bed. Mulder rounded the corner and could see the footprints made out ashes. "She was here...last night," she said, frightened. "Why is she following me?", she said, frightened.

Scully noticed that Mulder was bare chested in only his boxers. He grabbed Scully up and held her in his arms. She was wearing a silk top with spaghetti straps with no bra, he noticed, and silk matching shorts. Mulder was enjoying holding her. He could feel his body reacting. Scully glanced up at him and noticed the slight smile on his face. She pulled back slightly as Mulders hands ran down her bare back and arms. She looked down at the ashen foot prints. "I guess, Mulder, that we better go find her killer."

_**PigTown, University of Maryland**_

Mulder and Scully drove around trying to locate a building known as Dark Moon, the headquarters of a few self-designated Witches in the Baltimore area who practiced the dark arts of black magic. Mulder knew that Jack Crawford had already investigated the group but it hadn't been investigated by him. He had an uncanning way of solving cases in a way that had earned him the name, Spooky, amongst his peers. Mulder was sure the reason that Katie William's kept appearing was because her murder was unsolved and she would continue to appear until her murderer was captured.

Dark Moon's headquarters was in a home on Baltimore's Pig Town not far from the University of Maryland where Scully attended. She was familiar with the streets of Pig Town as they turned down a row of a brick houses on a quiet street and parked in front of a store front building.

"This is the place," Mulder said. He shook his head, "Pig Town?", he questioned, knowing that Scully would probably know the history, since she attended college there.

Scully chuckled. "They used to have pigs arriving off the railways going to slaughter here. You should see it Mulder, they have a Pig Town Festival every year where they race piggies for fun. My friend and I went one year when we had nothing else to do in between our classes."

Mulder nodded his head. "Come on, Scully...let's see if we can find out who killed Katie."

They stepped out onto the street and walked up to peculiar wooden door with a painted half moon blackened in, Mulder assumed represented the Group. Mulder knocked three times before the door swung open. A man with several tattoos of pentagrams opened the door. "Can I help you?"

Mulder and Scully both flashed their badges. "Agents Mulder and Scully of the FBI. Is this the headquarters of Dark Moon?"

"I talked to the FBI already," The Man said, looking annoyed, pulling out a card from his pants pocket. "Jack Crawford and some other nerdy looking guy."

"Yes, but not by us."

The man looked at Scully and then at Mulder. "Come in," he said, turning to back into what turned out to be a small room with several couches lined around the square room. Tacked on the only available space of the walls were posters of witches and sale prices for potions and candles. around the entire perimeter of the wall was a shelf with black candles, potions. A back door was just beyond with rows of shelves filled with more merchandise and ritual items for their ceremonies.

"Whats your name?", Mulder asked.

"I'm Lycaon Corvus," the short tattooed man answered. "Better known as the Leader of this Coven."

"Lycaon Corvus?", Mulder questioned. "That's your real name?"

"It's my Witch name, a name of power. Yes, my Witch name," he said, as Mulder rolled his eyes. "I'm a male witch and I had it legally changed, so yes."

Mulder's face twisted up. He pulled out a photo of Katie Williams. "Do you know this woman?"

Lycaon's eyes blinked rapidly and then he turned towards Mulder. "No, I never saw her."

Mulder smirked. "Ly-na-can or whatever you said it is. You wouldn't be lying to me, would you?"

Lycaon chuckled but Mulder slammed him up against the wall. "Look, Pal, I know you're lying!"

"MULDER!", Scully said, shocked at his behavior.

"Tell me the truth! Did you know her!", he said, still gripping the man.

"Okay, Okay, let me go!", the guy said.

Mulder slowly released him. And then placed the photo back into his face. "Did you know her?"

"Yeah, I knew her!", Lycaon confessed. "She was this dippy chick that was like crazy man. She was nuts. I mean we get a few psycho's once in a while...but this chick, she was seriously out there!"

"In what way?", Mulder questioned.

"I mean, we practice black magic. We're not those hippie pagan's who believe in goddesses or stuff like that who call themselves witches when they're really just some New Age wannabe's! We try to distance ourselves from them, ya know. We practice the True Faith."

"And what is that?", Mulder said, looking at his tattoos that dotted his entire arms.

"Those pseudo witches are what we call White magic and we're Black magic. We possess actual powers. With it comes the responsibility to block spirits and other witches from using your abilities and causing you harm."

"Sounds like paranoia," Mulder huffed.

Lycaon shook his head. "You have to protect yourself from the dark world and others causing you harm. But you're also able to cause harm to them."

"So tell me about Katie."

He looked at the photo and shook his head. "She seemed okay for a long time but then she starting freaking out cause she was off her meds or something. She started saying she wanted to be like the devil. She needed more power. She bought every black candle and potion we had in this place!"

"That's funny," Scully said. "We never found a single candle or anything like that at her residence."

Lycaon looked confused. "Well...anyway, she thought it wasn't working. Like our magic was weak and so she started talking about stuff that was darker..."

"Like what?", Mulder questioned.

"Like summoning the devil and stuff like that," he said, nervously. "Look we're not Satanist. I don't fuck with that shit! Oh...'scuse my language," he said, looking at Scully.

She nodded.

"Katie started acting crazy talking about being one with the devil, ya know. She started chanting and saying she was summoning up the devil when we were practicing our magic. It spooked the hell outta all of us. We had to do a circle of protection against her cause we thought an evil spirit had possessed her or something. She kept on and so I kicked her out of the group."

"When was that?", Scully asked.

"Like two months ago."

"And you had no further contact with her."

Mulder could see he was nervous and hiding something. "What is it?"

"She like showed up here last night when we were having a meeting. She just appeared and then burst into flames. Everyone ran out of here, man. It was freaky! She disappeared. We figured she'd gotten that higher magic she was looking for," he said, shaking as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

"You weren't aware that she was dead?", Scully asked.

Lycaon looked confused. "Dead? She was just here last night."

"She's been dead three days now," Scully answered.

Lycaon puffed harder on his cigarette. "I need to consult with my spiritual adviser on how to protect us from her evil presence," he said, nervously. "I don't know every loon that comes here. Only serious witches need show up here at Dark Moon, ya know. I didn't realize she really did have some serious magic," he said, sighing harshly.

Mulder could tell that he was frightened, very frightened.

Mulder turned to Scully. "Let's go..."

She followed him out into the street. He looked disappointed. "Mulder?"

"He's telling the truth," he said.

"So what do we do now?", Scully asked. "Look for a bunch of Satanist?"

Mulder looked at her for a long moment and then rounded the car. Scully got back into the car and Mulder pulled off, a look of determination on his face. After an hour, Mulder and Scully pulled up to a home that caused Scully to immediately grab her cross necklace and say a few prayers. On the door was a large sinister looking Satanic Star with a goat in a pentagram that they'd found beneath Katie Williams bed.

"Church of Satan, Mulder?", Scully said, looking fearful.

"Come on, Scully. You don't believe in this, remember!", he said, stepping out and slamming the door.

She straightened up and got out and followed behind him. After a few knocks on the door, a tall man with long black hair and a goatee answered the door. "Can I help you?"

Mulder flashed his badge. "FBI, may we speak to you?"

"You're welcome in my lair," he said, moving out of the way.

On the walls were images of naked women engaged in provocative sex scenes and paintings of what Mulder assumed were High Priests of the Church of Satan dotting the walls. On one wall was the goat symbol and Scully immediately had chills run down her spine much to the delight of the man watching her. "There's nothing to fear here," he smiled. "We believe in acceptance of your physical desires," he said, winking in her direction.

Mulder stepped in front of her, blocking the guys view of Scully.

She cleared her throat and Mulder stepped back out of her way. Scully looked at the man, her voice taking on an authoritative tone. "What is your name, sir?"

"Jacob Hensley, A priest here at the Church of Satan."

She pulled out a photo and handed it to him."We're here to see if you can identify someone."

Mulder watched him closely. Jacob studied the photo for a long moment.

"Not that I can recall.," he answered. "But we get so many that are curious about us."

"She was burned a stake with the words WITCH written in her ashes," Mulder said, looking him in the eye. "Only one arm and one leg remain."

Jacob Hensley looked amused.

"IS something FUNNY to You?", Mulder screamed.

"It sounds like revenge...", Jacob answered. "And Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek in our religion, Agents!"

A woman appeared in the back dressed in leather clad clothing with her breasts exposed. Scully gave a side glance to Mulder but he was looking off at the wall, his eyes finally resting on hers. She looked away. Jacob noticed their discomfort and motioned for the woman to put on a top. She slipped on a black shirt and Mulder turned back towards them both.

"What's going on in here?", the woman asked, looking at Jacob Hensley.

"Are you Mrs. Hensley?"

The woman and man both chuckled. "I'm one of his ladies, yes. I'm Rita Davis."

Mulder showed her the photo. "Have you seen this woman."

"Yeah...she was here last night. We were having a meeting. We don't have services but we have meetings and she was there. She left a mess, I looked up and she was gone but there were ashes all over the floor. Pissed me off."

"So you do know her?", Scully questioned.

"Yeah, she was Rob's girl," Rita spoke, looking at Jacob as if to jog his memory.

"Wait...that's the one?", Jacob asked

"Yeah, the crazy one," she added.

"Rob?", Scully asked.

"That's right," Rita answered. "Why? Did something happen."

"She was murdered. Burned at the stake."

The woman glanced at Jacob. "We call it being destroyed."

Mulder was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"She must've done something to someone...and they destroyed her!", the woman added.

"Were you aware that she died three days ago?"

Rita and Jacob both looked sickly. "Seriously?", she said. "You mean...that was like what...her spirit or something here last night?", she said, staring into Jacob's eyes.

Jacob looked even more frightened than she did.

"Where is this Rob guy you're speaking of?", Scully asked.

They looked at each other and Rita quickly grabbed a piece of paper and gave them the address. "I'm shocked!", she said. "I thought this was just sex orgies and stuff like that," she said. "F. this, I'm going back to church," she said, running off into the back.

Jacob shook his head and then turned back to the agents. "Rob Harris lives the principles of Satan. He believes in it with his whole heart."

Scully was gripping her cross and Jacob noticed and began to laugh. "Don't worry, we're not going to harm you. We promise! We believe more in pleasure than pain," he winked.

Scully glanced at Mulder and he shifted from one foot to the other, glaring at the man.

"As for Katie...damn...that's some freaky shit," Jacob said, puffing on a cigarette.

Mulder nodded and then placed his hand on his spot on Scully's back and guided her out of the Lair. She was shaking from head to toe and he placed two warm arms around her. "You okay?"

"Yeah...", she said, enjoying the warmth of being surrounded by Mulder's massive arms. "I'm okay. I was raised in the church to believe that the Devil opposed not only the Church but humans as well. To see for myself people openly worship him, goes against everything I was taught. It's unnerving, actually."

Mulder pulled back still gripping her shoulders. "You know, Scully, tomorrow's Halloween. I wonder if Katie will disappear after Halloween or continue to be seen. Perhaps this Rob guy will help us finally solve her murder so we can give her some peace."

She glanced back at the home with the large Church of Satan symbol and cringed. "Yeah Mulder. Let's find this Rob guy. I just hope he isn't as creepy as the rest of these people."

Mulder glanced down at her. "Honestly, Scully, Me too."

Mulder and Scully pulled up to the single story home belonging to Rob Harris and they were struck at how ordinary it seemed from the outside. There were no pentagrams they could see or anything that would give it away that he was a member of the Church of Satan. When they rang the doorbell, a man with brown hair and red eyes and sloped baggy eyes opened the door. "Can I help you?"

"Agents Mulder and Scully," Mulder said. "We're here to investigate the death of your girlfriend, Katie Williams."

Rob Harris' eyes were dashing around as if he were unsettled. "Come in," he said.

Mulder walked in followed by Scully and they were seated on his sofa. Again they looked around and there were no signs of anything that showed he was a member of that church. He sat down in a chair across from them.

"You were Katie William's boyfriend?", Scully said. "No one knew she had a boyfriend."

"Who told you I was Katie's boyfriend?", he said, looking upset.

Scully cocked her head. "We were just at the Church of Satan."

Rob tapped his finger on the edge of a glass of whiskey. His eyes darted to the corners of the room as if he were afraid of something or someone.

Scully shot a look at Mulder and they both turned bck to Rob.

"I'm not a member any more. I got rid of all my stuff."

"Why is that?", Scully questioned.

"I was a raised a Catholic," he said, glancing at her necklace. "Like you. I went back to the church two days ago. I'm even thinking of becoming a priest," he said, drunkenly. "Renouncing sex and giving up all my worldly possessions."

"Why the sudden change?", Mulder said.

Rob again scanned the corners and then turned his attention to the agents. "I just felt that the whole self indulgence thing that the Church of Satan teaches was too much for me, ya know."

"Like the tenet about revenge?", Mulder said, watching him carefully.

Rob stared at Mulder for a long time and then swallowed hard. "Yeah, revenge."

Mulder sat up, his hand touching his gun."What did she do for you to kill her?", Mulder asked.

Rob looked down at his lap and then up at Mulder. "The church teaches you to destroy at all cost those that have angered you. She was off her meds. She wasn't really my girlfriend. She was just one of my girls..."

Scully cleared her throat and Rob continued. "She was one of my pleasures of the flesh. She was a great lay," he said. "When she wasn't trying to summon up the devil, that is."

Mulder glanced over to Scully. She was shaking her head.

"But," Rob continued. "She started acting crazy and she wasn't dedicated like I was to Satanism. She was in it because she thought I could give her some powers like transfer powers or some bullshit. That was all that crazy witch talk she learned at Dark Moon...not what I believed in. She thought being a Satanist would give her some powers to make her a God on Earth or some crazy shit. Then I couldn't take it any more. She tried summoning up the devil and she started saying I was a fake! Like I didn't really believe or some shit. She said, if I truly believed, I'd talk to the devil and he'd make her powerful! And she started getting on my nerves and she was screaming and acting crazy and I couldn't take it any more. I told her to shut up and she wouldn't and so I strangled her," he said, glancing around the room."I shut her up!", he laughed nervously.

"Then I took her out to the woods and I burned her at the stake and I watched her burn. And then I wrote WITCH in her ashes," he said, as tears ran down his cheeks.

"I snatched her necklace off that I gave her and I tossed it in the remaining fire cause she didn't deserve it. She wasn't one of us. Then I drove to her house and cleared out all of her candles and stuff...cause I thought she didn't deserve it," he said, wiping his nose as tears poured down his face.

"She didn't deserve to die that way either," Mulder said.

Rob's eyes bulged for a second but then he continued on. "I see her every! She keeps showing up in my living room or when I'm trying to sleep and I see her and she bursts into flames! I see her burning all over again! Damn witches!", he said, downing his whiskey.

"She's haunting me!" he continued, shaking. "I freaked out and I took all my stuff and I threw it away. I got rid of it and ran to the first Catholic priest I could find. I confessed my sins. But, I'm still a murderer," he said, staring at both Agents. "She won't let me forget what I did to her. Only god can forgive me! GOD PLEASE FORGIVE ME!"

Mulder stood up. "Let's call the local P.D.,Scully. We're done here."

**Please Leave A Review: Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Burned At The Stake**

**Part 5**

**by**

**Trycee**

**Time-Line: Halloween Crossover story: X-Files/Hannibal. Location: Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Files, this is written for fun not profit.**

****Food descriptions come from Janice Poon, a food stylist for NBC Hannibal from her blog, "Feeding Hannibal"****

Jack Crawford and Will Graham arrived at Rob Harris' residence just as Mulder and Scully were wrapping up things up with the local P.D. who had Rob Harris restrained in handcuffs.

"Well...I underestimated you," Jack smirked. "You did solve this crime."

"Yeah," Mulder said. "Nothing a little hard work and intuition couldn't do...huh Will?"

Will smiled. "Mulder, you're forgetting that we're on the same team."

Mulder scoffed and then placed his hand on the nape of Scully's back. "We're our own team!", he said, leading Scully away.

Mulder pulled off and he winked at Scully. She smiled in his direction and then placed a hand on his arm. He turned slowly and looked at her and then pulled the car over.

"Mulder?", she said, looking around. "What's wrong?"

He placed both of his hands on her head, locking her in place and then leaned in, planting a firm kiss on her lips, surprising her. She smiled against his soft lips and then returned the kiss, deepening it, slipping her tongue in his mouth as they both moaned. After a few minutes they broke away and stared into each others eyes. Scully knew immediately that the waiting between them was now over.

_**Baltimore Hotel:**_

The morning sun filtered through the hotel shades and Mulder sighed as he smoothed his fingers through Scully's red hair as she lay on his bare chest. She glanced up at him with a smile on her lips. "Happy Halloween, Mulder."

"Happy Halloween," he smiled before pulling her up to his lips. They broke the kiss and then stared into each others eyes, a wide smile on both their lips.

"What would you like this morning to eat?", she said, slipping from his grip to her side of the bed.

"Hmmm," he said, wiggling his eyebrows and Scully blushed.

"I mean...for breakfast."

"Well," he said, disappointed. "We have to get ready to drive back but we could always take our time. Skinner isn't expecting to chew us out until Monday morning."

"Yeah, I got a few phone calls from him by the way," she said, as she nibbled the soft skin of his neck.

"Oh Oh!", he yelped as his entire body came alive.

Scully continued to nibble on his earlobes,"Monday will be lots of screaming...lot's of threats."

"Yeah, what's new!", he said, bringing her lips back to his mouth.

They're tongues dipped into the moistness of each other's mouths and after a long moment, he pulled away and smiled as he gazed into her eyes that were bright, happy and sparkling. He'd never seen her so beautiful as she lay naked on top of him with the blanket covering her bottom half as his hands warmed her back. "He said if we're not in his office Monday morning, Mulder, don't bother coming back."

"Of course he did!", he said, as she licked his cheek. "Scully, umm, you drive me crazy!"

Mulder's cellphone rang and Scully's head draped down, disappointed, to his shoulder. He sighed and then answered the phone. "Mulder!"

"Agent Mulder!", the voice said. "I was hoping you and your partner were still in town."

Mulder recognized the slick banter of Hannibal. "We are actually. We're packing up and heading out soon."

"Are you in a rush to get back to D.C?"

Scully lifted up and looked into his eyes.

"Not really...It's Halloween, we do have a report to write."

"On Halloween?", Hannibal questioned.

Mulder could see the wide smile on Scully's face as she tried hard not to laugh. Halloween, New Year's, it never mattered to Mulder, they were always stuck in the office doing paperwork or sloshing in a wet field during those times. It was only a holiday to other people.

"We're FBI, sir."

"I wanted to invite you and Dr. Scully back for dinner before you leave town. You had to leave so suddenly the last time."

Mulder hesitated.

"I promise, no surprise guests...except Dr. Du Maurier. She's fond of you both and willing to grace me with her presence again for tonights dinner in my home again."

"We'd love too," Mulder lied.

"Six pm. No need for gifts, you're not guests. You're friends."

"We'll be there."

"Great," Hannibal said. "I look forward to having you for dinner."

Mulder cocked his head and then listened as the phone went dead. He hung up and Scully noticed the intense look on his face.

"Are you worried about seeing her again?", she questioned.

Mulder kissed her deeply. "No, Scully. I loved you before I knew you had a dopplegander out there."

"Mulder, we don't look that much alike!", she said, rolling her eyes.

Mulder raised his eyebrows, unbelieving. "Anyway, we love each other and what we have together, that's all I've ever wanted and all I've ever needed."

She smiled and kissed him again. "Then what is it?", she said, scanning his face. "What are you worried about?"

"There's something about them both...", he said, looking off at the ceiling. "There's something strange about them...I can't put my finger on it."

"You're paranoid, Mulder."

"Maybe," he said, as his hands lowered and lifted her back up towards his lips. "Come here Scully, let's finish what we'd started..."

_**Hannibal Lecter's Home:**_

Mulder and Scully stood outside Hannibals door. They were both dressed in their formal FBI attire. Scully wore her dark black slacks and a reasonable blue top with a black jacket and Mulder wore a black suit with a white shirt and black tie decorated with green alien heads. They kept smirking as they glanced at eachother. They held hands until the door opened and they quickly let their hands fall to their sides. Hannibal looked amused at the two of them. They shook Hannibal's hand and he escorted them again to the lavish table setting. They sat down across from Bedelia who raised her wine glass to them.

"Good job with solving the case," she smiled.

"Thank You," Scully answered. "Mulder has a knack for being able to solve the unsolvable."

Hannibal smirked. "Really? Is that so? Is that why Jack seemed so angered that you left to pursue your own interests?"

Mulder looked curiously at Hannibal who had a devilish grin on his face. Mulder glanced at Bedelia and then back to Hannibal. "He has Will now."

"Yet you solved the case first," Hannibal said. "Perhaps because you have less psychological disturbances."

Mulder nodded but his eyes narrowed. "Perhaps."

Hannibal smirked and walked back into the kitchen leaving Scully and Mulder alone with Bedelia.

"I sense there was a childhood trauma in your past," Bedelia said directly to Mulder. "It drives you in your work."

Mulder glanced over to Scully. He knew Scully was watching him closely and so he reached out his hand and held hers communicating to her without words that she had nothing to worry about, He was forever cured of his wondering eye. He turned back to Bedelia. "Don't we all?", he said, looking directly at her.

She smiled and then turned her attention over to Scully and for a moment they held each other's gaze. "Dr. Scully, with your work in the X-Files, are you sent often to Baltimore? Have you seen much of the sights here?"

"I graduated from the University of Maryland and attended medical school here."

"Oh really?", Bedelia said delighted. "So your family is from Maryland?"

Scully nodded, her eyes watching every glint of Bedelia's eyes and subtlies. "Yes, my family is from Annapolis. I was raised there until I was a preteen and my father was relocated to San Diego. We moved back here when I attended college and Medical school."

"Interesting," Bedelia smiled slyly. "Irish, correct?"

Scully could tell she was fishing for information but she didn't want to be impolite to the older woman. "Yes, both sides."

"What part of Ireland is your family from?"

Scully's eyebrow raised. "County Cork."

Bedelia nodded as she studied Scully's nearly exact features to her own. "We have quite alot in common," she said, without going further into details. Bedelia pressed her wine glass to her lips and let it linger as she noticed Mulder's hand still on top of Scully's. "You make a very attractive couple."

Scully glanced up at Mulder and he looked deeply into her eyes and she blushed, turning away from him. Bedelia smiled

Hannibal returned with three plates. He carried them all on his sleeve protected by a white linen cloth. On a bed of purple asparagus and sage were mini pies with three whole sturgeon peeking out from the crust. The head, eyes and all, and the tail of the fish were protruding out as if they were jumping out of the delicate crust. Hannibal explained that it was a Russian dish called Zakuski filled with various grades of caviar, smoked imported fish, gourmet cheeses, and headcheese, along with wild mushrooms and cooked until the skin, heads and eyes of the fish were golden.

Bedelia smiled but Scully could tell that she was as shocked at they were at the sight of the protruding fish from their meal. Hannibal returned with his own plate and a bottle of Russian vodka and poured it into long glasses for them each. "Enjoy."

Mulder was the first to cut through the maze of crust trying to avoid the fish. Scully too began to eat her food, taking tiny bites. Mulder swallowed it down, trying not to offend Hannibal whom he could see loved to cook elaborate meals but he'd much rather have a hamburger. Bedelia, like Scully, took small bites and sipped on her vodka between bites of the unusual fare.

"You're a masterful cook, Hannibal," Bedelia said, smiling at him. Hannibal's eyes lingered on her as she continued. "You're meals are as unique and complex as you are."

Hannibal was pleased. "Complex, yes. Perhaps, Doctor, you'll attend my next dinner party."

"Perhaps," she said, still uncommitted.

He turned towards Mulder and Scully. "I assumed no one was a vegetarian, you left the last time so soon."

Scully smiled. "No, we eat meat."

"Meat, should always be killed with mercy," Hannibal informed them. "The animal should be put out of it's misery immediately or else you can taste the stress of that animal in every bite."

"You can?", Mulder said, looking curiously at Hannibal.

"Oh yes," Hannibal answered, pleased and amused. "Fear remains in the meat or in this case...the fish. When one slaughters an animal, any animal, they should be sure to kill the animal swiftly so as not to waste perfectly edible meat."

Mulder was getting that feeling again about Hannibal as Hannibal smirked and held out his hand towards Mulder. "Eat! Don't let this sacrifice go to waste."

Mulder cocked his head to the side and then glanced from Hannibal to Bedelia. She had turned to Hannibal exchanging a glance between them. Mulder could feel Scully watching him and so he dug back into his meal, trying hard not to upset their host or upset Scully.

After they'd eaten a fair amount, Hannibal served a dessert he explained was Coeur de la Creme, a white cream shaped like a heart swimming in a raspberry coulis that reminded Scully of blood from her autopsies. She dipped her spoon in the red liquid and then tasted it and her eyes grew wide. "This is incredible."

"It's a very delicate dessert," Hannibal answered. "The key is to have fresh raspberries, even if they have to be flown in."

He turned his attention to Mulder. "So, will you go back to D.C. and investigate UFO's?"

Mulder eyed Hannibal carefully. "We investigate more than that."

"Well, you certainly solved this case," Hannibal smiled. "As Katie's therapist, I have to say, thank you. It would've haunted me to think that her killer was running free."

The strange vibe Mulder was picking up from both Bedelia and Hannibal was eating at him, especially from Hannibal. There was something about him that if he'd had more time, he was sure he'd figure out what it was about Hannibal that bothered him so much.

"Well, thank you for inviting us over," Scully added. "It would've been another Halloween with us spending hours filing out a report on Katie Williams."

"Well, I hope we at least made this Halloween a memorable one."

"Certainly," Mulder said, as they rose up from their seats. "Yes, thanks for dinner."

"It was enjoyable!", Bedelia said with a slight English accent.

Hannibal nodded towards Bedelia and then looked back at Mulder and Scully. "Next time you are in Baltimore, please, stop by either to visit me at my home. Perhaps that will convince Dr. Du Maurier to come back for a meal and a visit outside of our sessions."

Bedelia looked uncomfortable. "You know my policy, Hannibal. This was probably a one time occasion."

Hannibal nodded his head with a sparkle in his eye as he looked at her. "I'll keep trying..."

Bedelia and Scully stared into eachothers eyes and then Bedelia broke the gaze, taking a sip of her refreshed glass of wine.

"Well, we do thank you," Scully said, bringing Hannibals attention back to them. "Sorry we can't stay...we have to drive back to D.C.," Scully explained.

"It was a pleasure to have you both for dinner," Hannibal smiled, as he escorted them to the door. "Have a safe trip."

Mulder turned and shook his hand, staring deep into Hannibal's eyes. "I'll see you again. Soon, I'm sure," he said.

Hannibal smirked. "I'm sure you will, Agent Mulder."

Hannibal kissed Scully's hand and closed the door as they walked away.

Hannibal walked back into his kitchen. He opened one of his drawers and pulled out two case files of his patients, Katie Williams and Rob Harris. Bedelia watched him from the door as he lit the files and then tossed them into his sink.

"Burning evidence, Hannibal?", she questioned.

"Protecting my patients, Dr. Du Maurier," he said as the papers erupted into flames. He watched them fizzle out. "Now, I have nothing to hide."

She stared hard at him. "Not any more."

As Mulder headed for the highway, he was unusually quiet, Scully noticed. "What's wrong, Mulder?"

He glanced at her. "I got several funny vibes from them again."

"You did?", she said, surprised. "Like what?"

"I dunno, Scully. The things he said...the food."

"That was bizarre," she said. "Delicious."

Mulder grimaced. "Well," she said. "Not that fish pie thing. There eyes kept staring at me. But the dessert was good even though it looked like a human heart floating in blood."

"Exactly!", Mulder said. "That's what I mean. Something isn't right about him. I'm sure if I had more time, I'd figure it out."

She grabbed Mulder's right hand and held it. "I'm sure you would, Mulder. I have faith in you, always."

He winked at her. She reluctantly let go of his hand, staring off out the window. Mulder returned his hand to the steering wheel. "Scully!"

"Yeah?"

"You know, I think we haven't heard the last of Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Something tells me, that's a name to remember."

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